"Isn't the Talisman Master profession way too profitable?"

"Impossible!!"

Fat Dragon shook his head with a resolute expression. "Brother Qiu, rest assured, I'll absolutely never have any use for this trait. Thanks for your kindness, Brother Qiu—I appreciate the thought. You should save this trait for someone who needs it more."

To be honest, he had often been annoyed that he had randomly obtained the Strength of Nine Oxen trait, and since it was an initial trait, he had yet to find any means of removing it.

But since he had drawn it, he had gradually accepted the fact.

Compared to swinging a blade and castrating himself, he thought it was better to remain as he was.

"Then we'll do as you say."

Chen Qiu said nothing further. He merely glanced over the auction list. There were quite a few things that interested him, such as this Green Trait, "Self-Severing Root." Fat Dragon might not be able to use it, but Chen Qiu could.

This kind of trash trait suited him perfectly. As long as he self-destructed it, it would become an all-out strike crossing an entire major realm—equivalent to the full-force attack of a First Level Golden Core Realm cultivator.

This was a trump card to keep hidden away.

Anyone without the Strength of Nine Oxen or a similar trait definitely would not bid on this trait. After all, trading away their only oxen for a random White Trait or Green Trait would feel somewhat unprofitable.

If nothing unexpected happened, this trait should not fetch too high a price. Perhaps he could even pick up a bargain.

"Alright."

He tucked the auction list and the two invitations into his robes before looking at the shopkeeper before him. "Let's go take a look at the talismans."

Half an hour later.

The two emerged from this Zhao Clan Merchant Association shop, while Fat Dragon's face was filled with heartache. They had spent quite a few Spirit Stones in that store.

First were the talismans.

"Lightning-Drawing Talisman," an offensive talisman. It could call down a bolt of heavenly lightning to attack an enemy, equivalent to the full-force strike of a First Level Foundation Establishment Realm cultivator. Price: 2 Spirit Stones per talisman.

They bought 100 of them.

"Golden Bell Talisman," a defensive talisman. Once activated, it formed a golden bell of spiritual energy around the user's body, capable of blocking the full-force attack of a First Level Foundation Establishment Realm cultivator. Price: 4 Spirit Stones per talisman.

They also bought 100 of them.

"Lightwind Talisman," an escape talisman. Once activated and affixed to the body, it made wind rise beneath one's feet, increasing movement speed by several degrees. Price: 2 Spirit Stones per talisman.

They bought 100 of those as well.

The talismans alone had cost 800 Spirit Stones.

"Damn, they're expensive!"

"Isn't the Talisman Master profession way too profitable?"

Fat Dragon clutched the storage ring on his index finger with a pained expression. "If I'd had this many talismans in that Minor World a few days ago, I could've slaughtered everyone in all directions by myself. Taking on a whole group alone wouldn't have been a problem."

Chen Qiu merely shook his head and chuckled without speaking.

The combined gains from that Minor World had only been 50 Spirit Stones, while these talismans had cost 800 Spirit Stones altogether. With that many talismans thrown around, even a pig could rampage through a Minor World.

He finally understood how those young masters from powerful lineages fought in this world. Their style was all about gracefully smashing people with money.

The advantage of talismans was that they activated instantly. Though their power was slightly inferior to spells of the same name and level, they did not consume the spiritual energy stored in one's dantian. One only needed to spend a tiny amount of spiritual energy to activate them.

The higher the talisman's grade, the more spiritual energy it required to activate.

For example, with a Foundation Establishment Realm spell like the Lightning-Channeling Art, the spiritual energy in the dantian of most First Level Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators was only enough to cast it four or five times before they were nearly drained. But if they used Lightning-Drawing Talismans, they would need to use over a hundred before exhausting their spiritual energy.

If the two sides fought under such circumstances—

Anyone could tell just by thinking with their ass which side would win.

He had only bought talismans whose power was equivalent to the full-force strike of a First Level Foundation Establishment Realm cultivator. Defensive talismans were somewhat more expensive and rarer than offensive ones. Apparently, defensive talismans demanded greater stability and were more difficult to craft.

Talismans with greater power were much more expensive.

For example, an offensive talisman equivalent to the full-force strike of a Ninth Level Foundation Establishment Realm cultivator cost a staggering 300 Spirit Stones. That price was enough to buy a set of Superior Voice-Transmission Talismans.

For him, the cost-effectiveness was simply too low.

If he really encountered a situation requiring such a method, why would he use a talisman? He could just self-destruct a trait and bring down the full-force strike of a First Level Golden Core Realm cultivator. Wasn't that far more badass than any talisman?

Still, he had asked whether they had any Golden Core Realm talismans. The answer was no. Such talismans were extremely rare; not a single shop in Heaven-Question Market had them.

Besides talismans.

They had also bought some miscellaneous odds and ends.

For instance, three superior storage rings. Their capacity was far greater than storage bags, they were more convenient to access and wear, and they were difficult to lose. Even if they were lost, cracking a storage ring already bound through a blood oath would require considerable effort.

Unlike storage bags, which anyone could use after picking one up.

But their price was not cheap either.

300 Spirit Stones apiece.

Besides that, they bought all sorts of miscellaneous things, spending another 300 Spirit Stones. After splurging extravagantly, they had spent a total of 3,617 Spirit Stones.

Feeling the enormous pile of Spirit Stones in the storage ring on his index finger, Chen Qiu could not help shaking his head and smiling.

After spending without restraint.

There were still 26,356 Spirit Stones in his storage ring.

He had not even spent the loose change, giving him the feeling that his money could never run out. This fortune should be enough for him to charge toward the Golden Core Realm.

Afterward, the two left Heaven-Question Market. They gave Scholar and his brother a Voice-Transmission Ring each, handed them a storage bag containing 3,500 Spirit Stones and several sets of clothes, gave them some instructions, then returned to Heaven-Question Market.

"Voice-Transmission Sub-Ring."

Scholar sat cross-legged on the ground, watching Chen Qiu and Fat Dragon gradually disappear down the path. Only then did he lower his head to look at the Voice-Transmission Sub-Ring in his hand. Who knew what he thought of, but after a long while, he suddenly shook his head and laughed.

This was no cheap item. Ordinary people could not afford it; one set was worth 1,000 Spirit Stones.

At the peak of his life, when the martial world called him Great Xia's foremost sword cultivator, he naturally had no shortage of Spirit Stones to buy Voice-Transmission Rings. But the final battle that had nearly taken his life had forced him to flee in utter defeat, abandoning everything.

That included the Voice-Transmission Ring he had once possessed.

He shook the storage bag in his hand, which held 3,100 Spirit Stones. After a long silence, he softly said, "This Young Master Chen is rather generous."

Young Master Chen had given him 3,500 Spirit Stones, including 500 Spirit Stones as monthly pay. He had returned 400. Taking 500 Spirit Stones a month truly burned his hand; he and his brother had practically no offensive means and were not worth that price.

If he accepted 500 Spirit Stones as monthly pay, he would feel unable to raise his head whenever he faced Young Master Chen. A monthly payment of 100 Spirit Stones was already enough, far exceeding the monthly income of ninety percent of Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators.

He knew full well that these Spirit Stones were payment for his life. Though Young Master Chen had not said it aloud, since he had taken these Spirit Stones, he would certainly make them yield the value they deserved.

At the very least, if his name spread again in the future, people could praise him as a man of righteousness who honored his contracts.

It was not as though there were no Attendants who ran off with their employer's Spirit Stones, but their reputations were often abysmal.

If Young Master Chen truly proved reliable, then it was not as though he could not entrust his life to him. He only hoped that Young Master Chen would take good care of his younger brother after he died. There were only two things he cared about in this life.

The first was how the people of the world judged him.

The second was his younger brother.

Heaven-Question Market had no Heavenly Dao Treasure Jade for sale. There was only one place that sold Heavenly Dao Treasure Jade.

"Heavenly Dao Pavilion."

It was several thousand li away.

"I'll have to make a trip."

Scholar sat on the ground, gazing into the clouds on the horizon as he murmured. His fingers moved slightly, and a streak of cyan light shot from his sleeve toward the eastern clouds, vanishing beyond the horizon in the blink of an eye.

.